Epping railway station, Melbourne

Epping
Station building and entrance, May 2014
General information
LocationCooper Street,
Epping, Victoria 3076
City of Whittlesea
Australia
Coordinates37°39′08″S 145°01′51″E / 37.6521°S 145.0308°E / -37.6521; 145.0308
SystemPTV commuter rail station
OwnerVicTrack
OperatorMetro Trains
LinesMernda
Whittlesea (former)
Distance22.82 kilometres from
Southern Cross
Platforms2 (1 island)
Tracks2
ConnectionsList of bus routes in Melbourne Bus
Construction
Structure type
Below-ground
Parking54
Cycle facilities
Yes
AccessibleYes
Other information
StatusOperational, premium station
Station codeEPP
Fare zoneMyki zone 2
WebsitePublic Transport Victoria
History
Opened23 December 1889 (1889-12-23)
Closed28 November 1959
Rebuilt29 November 1964
1987–1988
28 November 2011
ElectrifiedNovember 1964
(1500 V DC overhead)
Passengers
2005–2006608,802[1]
2006–2007699,741[1] Increase 14.93%
2007–2008787,541[1] Increase 12.54%
2008–2009891,140[2] Increase 13.15%
2009–2010949,144[2] Increase 6.5%
2010–2011856,720[2] Decrease 9.74%
2011–2012626,006[2] Decrease 26.93%
2012–2013Not measured[2]
2013–2014720,619[2] Increase 15.1%
2014–2015702,644[1] Decrease 2.49%
2015–2016797,360[2] Increase 13.48%
2016–2017822,977[2] Increase 3.21%
2017–2018861,078[2] Increase 4.63%
2018–2019887,650[2] Increase 3.08%
2019–2020690,350[2] Decrease 22.23%
2020–2021417,650[2] Decrease 39.5%
2021–2022434,500[3] Increase 4.03%
2022–2023672,900[4] Increase 54.87%
2023–2024725,350[5] Increase 7.79%
2024–2025748,150[6] Increase 3.14%
Services
Preceding station Railways in Melbourne Metro Trains Following station
Lalor
towards Flinders Street
 Mernda line South Morang
towards Mernda
Closed services
Preceding station Victorian Railways VicRail Following station
Lalor
towards Thomastown
 Whittlesea line South Morang
towards Whittlesea
List of closed railway stations in Melbourne
Track layout
to Lalor
to
Epping Train
Maintenance Depot
1
2
Darebin Creek
Henderson Creek
to South Morang
Location

Epping station is a railway station on the Mernda line, which is part of the Melbourne rail network. It serves the northern suburb of the same name, and was opened on 23 December 1889. Since 2011, it has been a below-ground, premium station, with an island platform.[7]

History

Epping station was opened as a stop on the line to Whittlesea, with trains designated as country services. From 1924, an AEC railmotor shuttle service operated from Reservoir to Whittlesea, until the line was closed north of Lalor on 29 November 1959.[8]

On 30 November 1964, a new station opened a little further down the line,[7] as part of the electrification of the line from Lalor to Epping. The station building was relocated from Glen Waverley, which was being rebuilt at the time.[7][9] On 1 January 1971, the building was damaged by a deliberately lit fire.[10][11]

During the late 1980s, the station was rebuilt, in conjunction with the construction of an adjacent train maintenance facility. The north face of the ground-level island platform was brought into use in July 1987, along with temporary station buildings. A new platform was built on a new alignment, with 200 metres of new track needed to link to the existing line. By the end of that month, the former platform and station building, dating from 1964, had been demolished, along with the alignment of the track and overhead wiring.[12][13] The south face of the former ground level island platform (Platform 1) was brought into use nine months later, in April 1988.[14] In 1989, new Solid State Interlocking was commissioned,[15] which was the first fully computerised system in Melbourne.[13]

In 1990, the new maintenance facility was opened,[16] which was a replacement for the Jolimont Workshops in central Melbourne. The depot covers 10.8 hectares, and can accommodate 31 trains, with the facility including a main workshop building, four elevated tracks, two lifting tracks and a train wash.[17] On 23 July 1998, Epping was upgraded to a premium station.[7][18]

At about 0914 on 18 June 2002, two Comeng train sets collided approximately 1 km south of the station.[19][20][21][22]

In 2010, construction commenced on a new, below-ground island platform north of Cooper Street, as part of a grade separation project in conjunction with the duplication of the line from Keon Park and its extension to South Morang station. The rebuilt station opened on 28 November 2011.[23][24] The former ground-level island platform and station building were demolished soon after and, in early 2012, a number of stabling sidings were built on the site.[25]

Platforms, facilities and services

Westbound view from Platform 2, May 2014

Epping has one island platform with two faces and is served by Mernda line trains.[26] Access to the platforms is provided by stairs and a lift. The station concourse contains a customer service window, an enclosed waiting room, toilets and a kiosk.

Epping platform arrangement
Platform Line Destination Service Type Source
1  Mernda line  Flinders Street All stations and limited express services [27]
2  Mernda line  Mernda All stations [27]

Dysons operates six bus routes via Epping station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

  •  356 : to Wollert East[28]
  •  357 : Wollert West – Thomastown station[29]
  •  358 : to Wollert[30]
  •  556 : Pacific Epping – Northland Shopping Centre[31]
  •  569 : Pacific Epping – South Morang station[32]
  •  577 : Pacific Epping – South Morang station[33]

Kinetic Melbourne operates one SmartBus route via Epping station, under contract to Public Transport Victoria:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Estimated Annual Patronage by Network Segment Financial Year 2005–2006 to 2018–19 Department of Transport
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Railway station and tram stop patronage in Victoria for 2008–2021 Philip Mallis
  3. ↑ Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) Data Vic
  4. ↑ Annual metropolitan train station entries 2022-23 Data Vic
  5. ↑ "Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) - 2023-2024".
  6. ↑ "Annual metropolitan train station patronage (station entries) - 2024-2025".
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Epping". vicsig.net. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  8. ↑ Jack McLean (November 1995). "Reservoir-Whittlesea: Signalling and Safeworking". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 333–337.
  9. ↑ Dornan, S.E.; Henderson, R.G. (1979). Electric Railways of Victoria. Australian Electric Traction Society. pp. 67, 83. ISBN 0-909459-06-1.
  10. ↑ "Fire-and station number six goes". The Herald. 1 January 1971. p. 7.
  11. ↑ "New Works, Alterations, etc". Divisional Diary. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). February 1971. p. 5.
  12. ↑ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). September 1987. p. 283.
  13. 1 2 "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). October 1987. p. 314.
  14. ↑ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). July 1988. p. 220.
  15. ↑ "Epping Signal Box". vicsig.net. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  16. ↑ Aquilina, Robert. "The Whittlesea Railway". The Northcote History Group. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  17. ↑ Van Den Berghe, Hugo (June 1989). "New Epping electric train depot". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 168–169.
  18. ↑ "Upgrading Eltham to a Premium Station". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). October 1997. pp. 303–315.
  19. ↑ "Suburban – Epping Crash". vicsig.net. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  20. ↑ "Collision Between Suburban Electric Passenger Train 1648 and Suburban Electric Empty Train 1025" (PDF). vicsig.net. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  21. ↑ Murphy, Padraic (19 June 2002). "Connex train drivers stood down after crash". The Age. p. 8.
  22. ↑ Gould, Russell (19 June 2002). "Driver in hospital after train crash". Herald Sun. p. 7.
  23. ↑ Rail line boost already on track Herald Sun 28 November 2011
  24. ↑ South Morang Rail Alliance Archived 9 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine John Holland
  25. ↑ "Works". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). March 2012. p. 89.
  26. ↑ "Mernda Line". Public Transport Victoria.
  27. 1 2 "Mernda Line timetable" (PDF). Transport Victoria. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "356 Epping Station - Wollert East via Hayston Bvd". Public Transport Victoria.
  29. ↑ "357 Wollert West – Thomastown Station via Epping Station". Public Transport Victoria. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  30. ↑ "358 Epping Station - Wollert via Epping Plaza SC". Public Transport Victoria.
  31. ↑ "556 Epping Plaza SC - Northland SC via Keon Park". Public Transport Victoria.
  32. ↑ "569 Epping Plaza SC - South Morang". Public Transport Victoria.
  33. ↑ "577 Epping Plaza SC - South Morang Station via Findon Rd". Public Transport Victoria.
  34. ↑ "901 Frankston - Melbourne Airport (SMARTBUS Service)". Public Transport Victoria.
  • Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Epping railway station, Melbourne at Wikimedia Commons
  • South Morang extension project gallery
  • Melway map at street-directory.com.au
  • Station Information at Vicsig
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